Can We Say " God Be With You" From Our Hearts?

So, it came to pass.

The powder-keg exploded in arson. One church was torched. One suffered minor damages from an exploded Molotov cocktail. The last one had an unexploded Molotov in its compound.It was understood that two churches received bomb threats.

There were some demonstrations in the various mosques after the weekly prayers.

Such a time as this is always the test of the moral fiber of the national leadership.That law and order prevailed during the demonstration does not matter. It should not be allowed to take place in the first instance. Such a time as this is where true statesmanship is born.


The unease in most towns was almost electric. Many were advised to stay clear from the vicinity of mosques.

The government has also got out the bulwark of its police force and the Fires Services too on stand-by duty. Are all this necessary? How does all this jive with the 1Malaysia concept?


No political points need be won from allowing such a show of defiance to take place now that the issue has been put back to the courts. Let the rule of law prevail while we go about our everyday business.

Asamalaikum means "God Be With You!" in Islam.


Can we practice that with all our fellow Malaysians, irrespective of race or religion?

HLB: Likely To Succeed in EON Takeover

Hong Leong Bank (HLB) is poised to make a voluntary general offer for the assets and liabilities of EON Capital which include EON Bank, Malaysia’s seventh smallest bank. If this takes place,the merger between the two would create a RM110.5 billion bank, the country’s fourth largest. This is the report filed by Business Times of Singapore today.

'HLB announced that the central bank had, via a letter dated Jan 6, indicated that it has no objections to the bank commencing negotiations with the boards of EON Capital and EON Bank to purchase the group’s assets and liabilities.

EON Capital, which is listed on the stock exchange of Kuala Lumpur, owns 100 per cent of EON Bank.

According to Malaysian law, a voluntary general offer would be deemed successful if 50.1 per cent of EON Capital’s shareholders agree to it.
Only one shareholder — the Hong Kong-based investment fund, Primus Pacific Partners might be opposed to it. Three years ago, the fund bought into EON Capital at a jaw-dropping RM9.55 apiece, a price that Quek would probably consider astronomical. And the opposite might be said about Quek’s speculated buying price (RM5.50- RM6) where Primus is concerned.

At least two government agencies — the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Khazanah Nasional — which collectively hold 22.1 per cent of EON Capital are said to be favourably disposed towards the HLB bid.

But the key people who have to be persuaded are businessman Rin Kei Mei and Sarawak billionaire Tiong Hiew King who collectively hold 33.2 per cent of the financial firm. Both of them are said to be eyeing a price at around RM8, which would be around 1.4 times book value.

And that could be the rub. Local news reports citing sources have said that Quek Leng Chan, the reclusive controlling shareholder of HLB, would only be willing to pay between RM5.50 and RM6 per EON Capital share which would value the bank at 1-1.2 times book. That may be a trifle cheap for the 2 businessmen’s tastes.

Indeed, there is no certainty that a deal will be struck as this isn’t the first time Hong Leong Bank has eyed EON Capital. A previous attempt several years ago had stalled over pricing: Quek isn’t known to pay more than what he considers a fair price.

But the central bank seems attracted to the idea of merger, which is why some analysts think a happy compromise might be struck. Indeed, the move towards a possible merger reflects the central bank’s desire to winnow the Malaysian banking sector to a few large banks, the better to withstand increased foreign competition starting this year. Currently Malaysia has eight local banks.'

To my mind, whether Hong Leong Bank takes over EON or not is not really important. If it does not, other parties will be making a beeline to it. Also, if Hong Leong Bank is not careful, it will be targetted for absorption as the banking market becomes more competitive and 'smallish' banks like Hong-Leong Bank will be hot for the gobble!

RWS: Michelin Star Chefs

The world’s most Michelin-star-decorated chef, Joel Robuchon, leads a team of celebrity chefs who will open restaurants at Resorts World Sentosa.

Robuchon, who has 25 Michelin stars, will make his debut in Singapore in May with three restaurants — Joel Robuchon Fine Dining, a high-end French restaurant, the more casual L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, known for its swanky red and black decor and bar counter dining, and The Pastry Shop and Lounge.

The other Michelin-starred chef to set up shop is Kunio Tokuoka, the chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred restaurant Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama and one-Michelin-starred Hana Kitcho in Kyoto, Japan.

This is the first time chef Kunio is venturing out of Japan. The kaiseki restaurant, called Kunio, is slated to open in April at Resorts World Sentosa’s all-suite hotel, Crockfords Tower. Kaiseki refers to a multi-course dinner where the dishes are made from the freshest seasonal ingredients.

The other two chefs are New York-based Susur Lee, known for starting up Club Chinois in the late 1990s, and Australian chef Scott Webster.

Lee has teamed up with Tung Lok Group to open Asian fusion restaurant Chinois in Hotel Michael, while Webster will be opening Osia, a modern Australian restaurant which used to be located in London’s Haymarket from 2003 to 2005.

Chinois and Osia will open at the end of this month.

Roger Lienhard, Resorts World’s vice-president of food and beverage and rooms, says the chefs were chosen to “balance” the cuisine and culture of the hotels, and to make each of their offerings unique.

On picking Robuchon over other French chefs, he says: “We wanted French cuisine. And in French cuisine, the discipline is very important.

“In the end, we felt that Robuchon was the man who was going to give us the commitment of what we want to do and what we want to strive for.”

All in, Resorts World Sentosa will boast more than 60 food and beverage outlets ranging from outlets offering hawker dishes to cafes to fine dining restaurants.

Last year, Marina Bay Sands announced that no fewer than six celebrity chefs will open restaurants at its resort.

This includes big names such as Wolfgang Puck of Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills, Daniel Boulud of three-Michelin-starred French restaurant Daniel in New York, Santi Santamaria of three-Michelin-starred Can Fabes in Spain, and Mario Batali of Italian restaurants Babbo and Lupa in New York. The resort has postponed its opening till April this year.

Resorts World Sentosa will open on Jan 20, with four hotels — Hotel Michael, Festive Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel and Crockfords Tower, and 10 food and beverage outlets, which includes Palio, a Tuscan restaurant in Hotel Michael.

The resort, which expects to attract 13 million visitors a year, has not announced the opening of its Universal Studios theme park and casino.

So, what do we do now? Taste the food first while we wait for the rides and the casino playoffs.

Malaysia: It's now 7% GDP comes 2011

Malaysia’s economy is likely to grow by seven per cent in 2011 based on the improving world economic condition. This was the opinion of Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, the second finance minister.

Ahmad Husni also indicated his optimism that the target of five per cent growth for this year could be achieved.

Ahmad Husni said although the World Bank had forecast 4.7 per cent growth for Malaysia this year, the government had set a higher target of five per cent.

“To achieve the target (five per cent), the government undertook a study and one of the initiatives is to increase local demand to galvanise the economy,” he told reporters after launching a Seminar on Jihad Business at Universiti Malaysia Sabah today.

He said the government would also fast-track the implementation of the development projects.

“Projects in the pipeline will be brought forward for implementation. The ministry will also try and speed up the tendering process of the earmarked projects.

“We believe that with the increased level of efficiency, we will achieve the target,” he said. Ahmad Husni said the government would continue to prioritise certain sectors, particularly the tourism industry, which was not clearly affected by the recent economic downturn.

In this respect, he said, health tourism would play an important role to attain the desired result. He said this was in line with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia concept and his vision to transform the country from agriculture-based to manufacturing or high-performance economy.